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anon's avatar

Oh no, you're lost in the woods! What do you do?

Asked by anon (1631points) December 11th, 2009

Yeah it’s freakin’ scary!

You’ve just woken up with the worlds worst hangover and you have absolutely no idea how you’ve come to be in the woods. The very last thing you remember is flirting with that rather attractive person at the bar (the one who kept buying you all those drinks).

You pull out your phone to call someone (assumably the emergency services or your mother) and notice there’s no signal. Instead you use it as a makeshift torch and begin to inspect the surrounding area.

There seems to be an overgrown path heading off in one direction where you hear a loud humming noise, possibly a generator of some kind. There also seems to be a light coming from that direction but it’s very faint. Moving closer you see the path is streaked with dried blood, yet you find no cuts upon your own body.

Turning around you find another, more overgrown path that leads off into darkness.

What do you do?

There’s a strange howling that seems to be getting closer.

Bonus: You can also decide on the outcome of your actions.

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32 Answers

MENSAN's avatar

I would probably head towards the humming sound and light source, simply because those things probably lead towards other human beings and possible reference points for finding out where I am. I would be wary of my own safety and would proceed with extreme caution, of course, not knowing for certain exactly where I was headed. But, when lost and in doubt about your surroundings, one travels toward the most likely spot where they will encounter other human beings.

global_nomad's avatar

Oh Jesus. There is no freakin way I’m going to take the bloody path towards the strange light, there could be a psycho ax murderer in a cabin somewhere over there! I’d continue to use my cellphone as a flashlight and take the other path into the darkness. I’d run like a maniac down that path, dodging branch and limb, leaping root and bush with my catlike reflexes and agility. Then, because I have no freaking idea where I am and because the path is long and dark, I’d probably break down and cry. After that, I’d climb a tree or find somewhere safe to sit until daybreak where I would have a better chance of finding my way out of the woods.

Talimze's avatar

I would go north. You always go north. Doesn’t matter where that leads, or if there is even a path at all. Even if north leads off a cliff, that is the right way to go. Of course, you need to be able to tell which way is north. Fortunately for me, I can smell true north, so I’m set. All I need to do now is make sure I don’t get raped by a bear on my way to safety.

aprilsimnel's avatar

If you mean in front of me is the dried blood, and 180° from the dried blood is overgrown darkness, well, nothing is stopping me from going 90° from the blood to my left. I’d head that way.

ragingloli's avatar

I realise that perhaps today is a good day to die. So I shall prepare for glorious battle and rejoice, for Sto-Vo-Kor awaits!

Mavericksjustdoinganotherflyby's avatar

The bloody path sounds so much more exciting than an overgrown one leading off into the darkness! Just a typical cracker here heading strait towards what may turn out to be a violent death.

ragingloli's avatar

Or I hide like a dog in the woodworks to observe.

gradyjones's avatar

First I would find a weapon like a big rock or a stick and then I would go down the bloody path. I would be ready to bolt into the woods if I heard anything. If the noise turns up being a cocktail waitress with a tray of pina coladas I would pop out and strike up a conversation. However if the noise is someone wearing a mask of someone else’s skin then I would stay hidden until they passed, but continue towards the lights and generator still hoping that it is just a chainsaw macacre themed four star hotel ahead.

Slick's avatar

I would most likely go back, the way I came from.

JessicaisinLove's avatar

First I’d be glad I was alive after being drugged and dumped in the Forest. The dried blood could “possibly” be from another person who had been brought there as well.
I would head in the opposite direction from the light as the people who brought me there might possibly the source of the light. I’d follow the path and see where it leads. If it appears it was a bad choice I’d climb to the top of a tree. One I could hide well in and wait until morning. By then I’d be reported missing. Although out of a service area
with my phone the last ping received by the phone Co would at least point my
searchers in the right direction. Of course by morning the way out might be visible.

anon's avatar

I Lurve you guys!

@Slick You’ve just woken up there with no recollection of ever arriving…

@aprilsimnel Yeah, the paths are direct opposites to each other.

Berserker's avatar

Slasher movies have taught me that humming sounds in otherwise inhabited places are a bad omen. Especially if there’s dried blood leading to it…

My dad told me that if I ever get lost, I should find a high spot, in this case we’ll take a tree, and try to spot faraway civilization, such as buildings or skyscrapers on the horizon, then head in that general direction.

At the same time, perhaps I could manage to spot the source of the light and humming, and see where the other path leads…this would broaden my options…of course, climbing a tree while potentially being hunted by starving wolves is probbaly not a good idea…which is why I avoid forests, anyways. Even if there were no wolves or psycho dudes wearing my boyfriend’s face trying to hack me to pieces, I would probably die somehow anyways. :D

JessicaisinLove's avatar

@anon – two weeks they lost their car….OMG….that is bad.

NaturalMineralWater's avatar

Having spent a lot of time in the woods cutting firewood and hunting as a kid.. I’d probably feel as if I was on vacation.

Being in a forest means you have plenty of materials to make a fire.. a tree to climb for perspective.. and forest animals to eat…

Being that you were drunk.. you probably weren’t able to make it too far into a secluded forest anyhow. XD

anon's avatar

@NaturalMineralWater Unless someone left you there… Dum-duhm-DUUUHM = scary, dramatic music fail…

@JessicaisinLove I know right! Did you mean to reply that to my message?

NaturalMineralWater's avatar

@anon LOL. Well if someone left me there than I’d build a bow and arrow too.. for revenge.. but first .. I’d probably climb the tree to make sure I wasn’t half a mile from a road.. then I’d build a fire if I wasn’t.

casheroo's avatar

I’d run away from the trail with blood. It could be a person or animal. I’d be the hysterical person who completely panicked and passed out from hyperventilating. lol

anon's avatar

@casheroo Hot on the heels of @global_nomad then ;)

@NaturalMineralWater I’ll bring some marshmellows!

aprilsimnel's avatar

While I was going in the perpendicular direction, I’d find the nearest big stick to carry. And I’d walk softly. I don’t know who could smell me already, you know? I wouldn’t want to make it too easy to catch me.

MENSAN's avatar

The scenario, as composed, states: “You’ve just woken up with the worlds worst hangover and you have absolutely no idea how you’ve come to be in the woods.”

This means that you were unconscious, and if someone intended harm to you (of any kind) it COULD have been done to you, while you were unconscious, if any harm was going to be done to you at all.

If the person is in the woods and sees a dried blood trail, that doesn’t indicate HOW the other person became injured. S/he could have fallen down and cut himself or herself in the process, or could have gotten injured from vegetation or a wild animal.

My choice of action would still be to head in the direction that would afford me the greatest likelihood of contacting other living beings, but as I said, I would do so with extreme caution.

SirGoofy's avatar

I would take a deep breath, work out the stiffness in my arms and completely relax. I would then go into deep meditation to really clear my head. Then I could think clearly enough to strategize my plan to navigate my way back to civilization. Of course, none of this would take place until I’d finished screaming bloody murder for about 10 minutes.

pouncey's avatar

try to find fiddy to borrow one of his rifles.

JLeslie's avatar

Can I climb a tree and wait for dawn to come?

I actually had a friend in high school who woke up in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night still kind of drunk. Last she remembered she had started to walk home, because she knew she was too drunk to drive, and had to get home to avoid being grounded for getting home past her curfew, but she must have passed out (the long story is she was an alcoholic and her drinking was getting out of hand, getting blind drunk all too often). The scenerio was not as scary as this one, she found her way out of the woods after being a little disoriented. Still, scary shit.

SeventhSense's avatar

Head towards the light and the humming sound. Find my tormentor and push him into the woodchipper he is occupied with pointing the exit chute back towards the trail to feed his cuisinart remains to the wolf on my trail. Head to the highway and hitch a ride back to civilization…oh and get a cup of coffee..

aprilsimnel's avatar

And pie. Don’t forget a slice of pie.

global_nomad's avatar

@SeventhSense Very well thought out. You’ve covered all the bases. A round of applause!

SeventhSense's avatar

Yes pie would certainly be in order

Darwin's avatar

I would climb a tree and stay put until morning. Then I could decide whether to head to the place where the light was, or to go the opposite direction.

I would prefer cake.

aidje's avatar

I’d build a house. I once was lost, but now I live here.

Zen_Again's avatar

I would enjoy every minute of it.

Eventually, getting back to (yuck) society out of force of habit, I guess.

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